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| Hensbit - Lamium amplexicaul |
After my recent post on Purple Dead nettles and Ground Ivy I set myself the task of finding the elusive Hensbit. Yes, it is rare for a weed to be elusive, especially one of those "easily confused" weeds, but Hensbit has proved just that. It occurred to me that maybe it flowers at a different time of year, but even so the leaf formation (wrapped around the stem) is the key distinguishing feature and that should be visible before flowering. I was also armed with the information that Hensbit is most commonly found on tilled soil - and our allotment site has 26 mostly tilled plots. So off I set with camera in hand.
First discovery: There are two similar deadnettles. Aside from the Red there is the "cut leaved" which at first sight looks like Hensbit. But it can't be Hensbit because the leaves are heartshaped and stalked (petiolate). This has been considered as a subspecies of the Red as you can tell from the Latin name: Laminium hybridum, but the two plants differ in several ways aside from the purple leaf coloration.
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| Green serrated leaf margins, slender stalks It's Serrated Leaf Deadnettle. |
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| Purple leaved "Red" Deadnettle |
So it turned out that on my plot there were two similar but distinct deadnettles but no Hensbit. I extended my search to the other 25 plots, and just when I was about to admit defeat I found this:
Leaves grouped in stalkless whorls around the stem at well spaced intervals!
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| Top view of Hensbit |
and here is alongside a neighbouring Red Deadnettle
It is only on one plot out of 26 (and the other two plants are spread from one end of the site to the other). I call that rare!
3/4/19 post script.
It now seems that there are three deadnettles on our allotment site, or four if you include hensbit as a deadnettle . The Northen Deadnettle (Lamium confertum) shares many features with Cut Leaf Deadnettle (Lamium hybridum). See Northern Deadnettle ID for a full specification. This seems to be a perfect match for some of the deadnettles that are clearly not Red Deadnettle.
https://www.ukwildflowers.com/Web_pages/lamium_confertum_northern_dead_nettle.htm
Thanks, Mel. I love this kind of stuff. I've spent my retirement years learning the names of all the plants in the mountains. Discerning the differences between them (the plant species) is just my cup of tea. You've done a great job here. Most enjoyable. Thanks ever so much.
ReplyDeleteYou are most kind. Similarly it is my retirement that affords me the opportunity to improve my understanding of the world on my doorstep.
DeleteWill just start to call you David Bellamy.
ReplyDeleteNow there's a man who knows his sphagnum moss! I've got a mountain to climb just to identify the weeds in my garden! But thanks.
ReplyDelete